No. 31 Sooners Win Big 12 Home Opener, 6-1

March 26, 2010

NORMAN, Okla. – The University of Oklahoma women's tennis team remains unbeaten at home as the 31st-ranked Sooners defeated Missouri Friday, 6-1, at the Gregg Wadley Indoor Tennis Pavilion.

Oklahoma (11-2, 2-1 big 12) won the doubles point against the Tigers (5-9, 0-3 Big 12) quickly but found itself down at the top three singles spots after the first set. The Sooners forced all three matches into tiebreaker sets and ended just two games short of its sixth dual-shutout of the season.

“Tonight was a lot closer than the score indicated,” OU head coach David Mullins said. “We had to dig really deep on a number of courts to get the win. The girls are starting to realize that there will be no easy conference matches this season.”

OU won its 10th doubles point of the season Friday to gain the early lead against the Tigers. The Sooners switched doubles pairings for the third-straight match and picked up wins at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions. OU has now won a combined 26 of 28 doubles matches and has won the doubles point in 10 of 13 dual matches.

Tara Eckel and Marie-Pier Huet won their third match in as many opportunities this season at the No. 2 spot, edging out Missouri's Sofia Ayala and Jamie Mera, 8-6. The OU duo, last season's Big 12 No. 2 doubles position champion, is now 12-3 in Big 12 matches over two seasons.

Kristina Radan and Maria Kalashnikova played as a pair for the first time this season and clinched the doubles point for the Sooners after defeating MU's Kristin Bleakley and Andrea Lewis at the No. 3 spot, 8-4.

No. 21 Ana-Maria Constantinescu and Teona Tsertsvadze fell short at the No. 1 spot in the tiebreaker game to Missouri's Mallory Weber and Kaityln Ritchie, 8-7,

In singles, OU claimed the first two points at the No. 6 and No. 4 positions to take a 3-0 lead against the Tigers. Eckel dominated MU's Lewis at the No. 6 spot, 6-1, 6-1, while Freshman Teona Tsertsvadze topped Maria Christensen at the No. 4 spot, 6-2, 6-3.

No. 90 Constantinescu won her 21st career Big 12 match against the Tigers Friday at the No. 1 spot. Constantinescu lost the first set but came back to seal Oklahoma's victory, defeating Ritchie, 4-6, 7-5, 6-0.

Kristina Radan moved back to the No. 5 spot after playing four-straight matches at the No. 6 position. Radan defeated MU's Ayala after a close second set, 6-3, 7-6 (7).

Huet lost her first set to MU's Mera at the No. 2 position, 6-2, but quickly fought back to win the second set, 6-2. Huet hung on to win the third set, 6-4, winning OU's final dual point on the day.

Missouri claimed the final singles point at the No. 3 position after Mallory Weber topped Kalashnikova in three sets, 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-3.

The Sooners improved to 7-0 at home this season and are now 12-2 at home under Mullins. OU's only two losses this season have been to top-20 opponents, including then-ranked No. 1 Baylor.

The Sooners continue Big 12 play against No. 65 Colorado on Sunday, March 28 at 1 p.m. in Norman, as OU looks to claim its fourth win against a nationally-ranked opponent.

All children in attendance Sunday will receive a free Sooner growth chart. Admission is free to all OU women's tennis home events.

No. 31 Oklahoma 6, Missouri 1
Doubles
1. Weber/Ritchie (MU) def. No. 21 Constantinescu/Tsertsvadze (OU), 8-7(5)
2. Huet/Eckel (OU) def. Ayala/Mera (MU), 8-6
3. Kalashnikova/Radan (OU) def. Kristin Bleakley/Lewis (MU), 8-4
Order of Finish: 2,3,1

Singles
1. No. 90 Ana-Maria Constantinescu (OU) def. Kaityln Ritchie (MU), 4-6, 7-5, 6-0
2. Marie-Pier Huet (OU) def. Jamie Mera (MU), 2-6,6-2, 6-4
3. Mallory Weber (MU) def. Maria Kalashnikova (OU), 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-3
4. Teona Tsertsvadze (OU) def. Maria Christensen (MU), 6-2, 6-3
5. Kristina Radan (OU), Sofia Ayala (MU), 6-3, 7-6(7)
6. Tara Eckel (OU) def. Andrea Lewis (MU), 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 6, 4, 1*, 5, 2, 3

No. 31 Sooners Win Big 12 Home Opener, 6-1

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No. 31 Sooners Win Big 12 Home Opener, 6-1

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